Particularly, the forgiveness of Ninevah collates to the Christian views of G_d as an all forgiving superior being that forgives those who repent unto him. However, it is also in line with some of the Jewish traditions of G_d, but only in that He is infallible. Many of the stories in the Torah pertain to a spiteful G_d that destroys His enemies, though He does change His opinions on violence throughout his existence as can be seen in the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. In the Qu'ran, G_d desires more of a vengeful following than the other two Judeo-Christian religions. Thus, it also follows the infallibility of the Lord and His teachings. -Doyle
God is trying to show Jonah that he should also have the same pity for Nineveh, instead of being angry that the city was pardoned. This part is the most developed because it contains the driving moral of the Book of Jonah. This scene elucidates God’s intention in teaching Jonah to forgive those who have sinned. –Lexi B.
However, contrary to this whimsical flourish of divine might, G_d also is calculated in his use of power. Why does G_d need this man Jonah to teach the lessons of the religion? I believe that G_d uses humanity as a tool because humans can better relate to each other than some all-powerful being in the sky. I would go as far to say that if G_d simply conjured supernatural occurrences without explaining it to the people that they would exclusively fear him and not learn anything. –Gilmour
He does all these things in Jonah’s life for two reasons- the first is that he truly wants to pursue the people of Nineveh and call them back to himself. And secondly, God sees that his messenger is against helping the Ninevites based on his own prejudices so he brings up the gourd in order to symbolize the city of Nineveh to Jonah and to explain to him the reason why he is working so hard to bring these people back to himself. He could have simply left Jonah to die after he proclaimed his message to Nineveh, but instead chose to pursue him and appeal to his heart and feelings, showing that he is a personal and gracious God. This conception of God as both personal and gracious agrees with the concept of Catholicism. In regard to Judaism, this understanding coincides with the Jew’s knowledge of a personal God, but I am not sure that they see him as gracious as much as they believe that they must do good to live a good life.—Cassie S.
God can be characterized as merciful as he took pity on the men on the ship and allowed them to live and also allowed Jonah to escape the fish's belly alive. Mercy agrees with the basic principles of Catholicism and Judaism as they both practice forgiveness and mercy. –Jess M.
This scene demonstrates Gods sense of power, highlighting how absolute and mighty he/she is. Jonah's disobedience results in his series of punishments which reveals to the public how supreme God is and how his/her judgment superceeds all others. It is meant to instill Gods omnipotence into the minds of readers, revealing that if God is able to create such pain and destruction, then he is also able to bring peace and prosperity, but only to those who put all of their faith and trust into him/her. –Amirah
God does all of these actions to either get his way or prove a point. He forces Jonah to do his bidding by having him swallowed by a whale. And then when Jonah is angry that God does not keep his promise to the citizens of Nineveh, God makes the conditions around Jonah difficult in order to prove his point that life is not always what you want it to be. These actions characterize God as somewhat self-involved, and not willing to take no for an answer. He is stubborn. This agrees with the concepts of God as an all-powerful being whose will all must submit to from Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. –Amber M.
Who is Jonah and why does he behave this way:
In the rest of the story, events are told in the order of which they occurred with little other analysis or insight into the minds of the characters. For this reason, Jonah’s actions are debatable. Although he apologizes to God and tells Him that he will gladly return to Nineveh after being swallowed by the whale, he could potentially be doing this to selfishly protect himself, not solely to follow God’s word.-Haley
The two sides of the debate would be the moral conflict Jonah has when he decides whether to go to Ninavah. This is the ultimate battle of right and wrong. Should Jonah repay G-D for rescuing him from the belly of the whale and go and help the city which he doesn’t want to do, which is the decision Jonah went with. The other option could have been to do what he wanted to do and go on with his life and never visit the chaotic city of Ninavah. –Lexi K.
What kind of G-d:
Particularly, the forgiveness of Ninevah collates to the Christian views of G_d as an all forgiving superior being that forgives those who repent unto him. However, it is also in line with some of the Jewish traditions of G_d, but only in that He is infallible. Many of the stories in the Torah pertain to a spiteful G_d that destroys His enemies, though He does change His opinions on violence throughout his existence as can be seen in the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. In the Qu'ran, G_d desires more of a vengeful following than the other two Judeo-Christian religions. Thus, it also follows the infallibility of the Lord and His teachings. -Doyle
God is trying to show Jonah that he should also have the same pity for Nineveh, instead of being angry that the city was pardoned. This part is the most developed because it contains the driving moral of the Book of Jonah. This scene elucidates God’s intention in teaching Jonah to forgive those who have sinned. –Lexi B.
However, contrary to this whimsical flourish of divine might, G_d also is calculated in his use of power. Why does G_d need this man Jonah to teach the lessons of the religion? I believe that G_d uses humanity as a tool because humans can better relate to each other than some all-powerful being in the sky. I would go as far to say that if G_d simply conjured supernatural occurrences without explaining it to the people that they would exclusively fear him and not learn anything. –Gilmour
He does all these things in Jonah’s life for two reasons- the first is that he truly wants to pursue the people of Nineveh and call them back to himself. And secondly, God sees that his messenger is against helping the Ninevites based on his own prejudices so he brings up the gourd in order to symbolize the city of Nineveh to Jonah and to explain to him the reason why he is working so hard to bring these people back to himself. He could have simply left Jonah to die after he proclaimed his message to Nineveh, but instead chose to pursue him and appeal to his heart and feelings, showing that he is a personal and gracious God. This conception of God as both personal and gracious agrees with the concept of Catholicism. In regard to Judaism, this understanding coincides with the Jew’s knowledge of a personal God, but I am not sure that they see him as gracious as much as they believe that they must do good to live a good life.—Cassie S.
God can be characterized as merciful as he took pity on the men on the ship and allowed them to live and also allowed Jonah to escape the fish's belly alive. Mercy agrees with the basic principles of Catholicism and Judaism as they both practice forgiveness and mercy. –Jess M.
This scene demonstrates Gods sense of power, highlighting how absolute and mighty he/she is. Jonah's disobedience results in his series of punishments which reveals to the public how supreme God is and how his/her judgment superceeds all others. It is meant to instill Gods omnipotence into the minds of readers, revealing that if God is able to create such pain and destruction, then he is also able to bring peace and prosperity, but only to those who put all of their faith and trust into him/her. –Amirah
God does all of these actions to either get his way or prove a point. He forces Jonah to do his bidding by having him swallowed by a whale. And then when Jonah is angry that God does not keep his promise to the citizens of Nineveh, God makes the conditions around Jonah difficult in order to prove his point that life is not always what you want it to be. These actions characterize God as somewhat self-involved, and not willing to take no for an answer. He is stubborn. This agrees with the concepts of God as an all-powerful being whose will all must submit to from Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. –Amber M.
Who is Jonah and why does he behave this way:
In the rest of the story, events are told in the order of which they occurred with little other analysis or insight into the minds of the characters. For this reason, Jonah’s actions are debatable. Although he apologizes to God and tells Him that he will gladly return to Nineveh after being swallowed by the whale, he could potentially be doing this to selfishly protect himself, not solely to follow God’s word.-Haley
The two sides of the debate would be the moral conflict Jonah has when he decides whether to go to Ninavah. This is the ultimate battle of right and wrong. Should Jonah repay G-D for rescuing him from the belly of the whale and go and help the city which he doesn’t want to do, which is the decision Jonah went with. The other option could have been to do what he wanted to do and go on with his life and never visit the chaotic city of Ninavah. –Lexi K.